When planning our adventure, the thought of visiting a rainforest in Australia never crossed my mind. My original impressions of the country included sunny beaches, unusual animals, the barren Outback, a few interesting cities and of course, the Great Barrier Reef. Travel reviews and research led me further.

Fact: Australia’s rain forests are the world’s oldest, dating back over 100 million years. They once covered all of Australia, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth! Climate change and human “advancement” have caused the rain forest to recede down to a thin 375 mile strip along the coast.

Frank and I did two trips to the rainforest during our brief stay in Cairns. One was to Kuranda, “a cultural rainforest village,” which turned out to be pretty touristy. The trip there and back, however, made it more than worthwhile. We took a refurbished train through the rainforest to Kuranda and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway over the rainforest on the way back.

The second was an all-day journey through the pristine rainforest destinations of Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation. At high tide, this area is the only place in the world where the two most complex ecosystems meet. The tour was truly one of the highlights of our adventure so far. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking…